(exploring my creativity in new ways, one post at a time)

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The Creative Process (The Result)

I have completed the one-page profile of my non-Bard. A few details that I’d worked out while coming up with the name changed some, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Besides, he kept telling me that those details weren’t right, and quit sharing his life story with me when I wouldn’t listen. Haha…

I laugh, but it’s true. Sometimes, you just have to accept that perhaps your idea of what should be may not be what is. I slept on it, and woke with the story more fully realized than before. Oddly, I am much happier with this one, too.

So, without further ado, enjoy…

A Brief Biography of Kyle Gardner

The Scholar/Explorer known as Kyle Gardner was born to Lily Gardner in a small town near the Imperial capital, in the middle of winter, about twenty-four years ago. Kyle’s father, Teron Stargazer, met Lily while on his way to the Imperial capital for an Imperial Alchemy Society conference. Despite his birth, his parents – human female and elf male – chose to remain apart. Instead, they shared the duties of raising him, so he was educated about both halves of his heritage. As a result, he spent part of the year with his father and the rest with his mother.

Kyle’s mother was an herbalist who ran the town apothecary. In the fall, he’d help her harvest her herbs and prepare them for sale in her shop. In the coldest months of the year, she schooled him daily on reading, writing, herb lore, and nature appreciation. Come springtime, he’d find himself outside most of the time, planting new herbs or playing with kids his age in the woods just outside of town. When he wasn’t outside, he was continuing his studies or reading.

His love of books came from his father, though. At his father’s home in the rural southern frontier, he found a massive library of books, covering such diverse topics as mathematics, astronomy, alchemy, and even such uncommon sciences as geology. Nestled among these topics was a small bookcase, full of fiction. They were stories of the young empire, and the tales contained within told of brave heroes, grand adventures, and fell villains.

These captured his imagination, and he began to research the history of the Empire. He was fascinated by the lives of those who’d lived long before he was born, and longed to find some of these marvels the stories mentioned. This led him to spending many nights in his father’s library, researching what he could about times long past.

In his early teens, he began going on exploration trips: short little excursions to relatively recent “ruins”. Those trips taught him important lessons about his life’s passion. First, do not go alone, because you don’t know what may call those ruins home now. Second, knowing how to bypass traps, locks, and similar can be helpful in getting to the ruins themselves. Finally, observation is paramount. Document what you see with notes, drawings, sketches, and samples.

As Kyle aged, his father’s biological influence became more pronounced, as the magic inherent in all elves began to manifest. Soon, he was able to see magic, know when something was poisonous, and even read unknown languages. In his late teens, he began to study magical theory and history as hobbies to pass the time, and further developed his burgeoning magical talent.

Now, Kyle has just recently begun to travel and see the world. He recently graduated from the Imperial University in the capital with a degree in history, and is ready to test his mettle against the secrets of the past…